Ford vs. Holden

In Australia and New Zealand, if you want to purchase a large family car with a big engine, your choices are limited to two manufacturers – Ford and Holden. Both produce fairly similar cars as their flagships - large sedan, 4 doors, V8 engine, big boot (trunk in American) etc. Both manufacturers produce their cars in Australia, Ford under the international brand, and Holden under its parent company General Motors. It is natural in Australasia that even though these cars are so similar, the biggest arguments erupt over which is better.

The Australians even run a race series, the V8 Supercars, which is limited to two models - the Ford Falcon and the Holden Commodore. The strong rivalry between brands exists more in the spectators and fans than the actual racers themselves. Many slogans are thrown around by the two camps - such as "Found On Rubbish Dump" or "barely Holden together."

The irony of this is that the cars perform to almost identical standards and come in at similar prices. Just make sure that if you are travelling to New Zealand or Australia, you avoid this argument altogether.